Seven Years Later
by Gingerilla
Summary: After seven years on no communication, Rory & Logan see each other. With emotions running high will they be able to get over their past mistakes and move on?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: This is my first attempt at fan fiction. Please read and review.**

**__****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Even though there were hundreds of people in the room, he caught a glimpse of her sneaking in the back of the room. It had been seven years since they had seen each other or even talked. He kept his eye on her throughout the whole service. She looked as gorgeous as she did the last time he saw her, on her graduation day. After the service had ended he went to go find her. Everyone was crowding around him, his mother and sister giving condolences.

"Rory Gilmore, as I live and breathe." He heard Finn's Australian accent from behind him.

"Hi Finn, how have you been?" Rory replied giving Finn a hug.

"Good now that I have seen you love." Finn replied hugging her tight. "We've missed you."

"I've missed you too." She replied noticeably nervous.

"Hey Rory." He said giving her a hug and breathing her in. Coffee and vanilla. Those smells always made him think of her.

"Logan, I am so sorry." She said hugging him back. "How are you doing?"

"As good as can be expected." He replied not wanting to let her go. "Thank you for coming."

"You're welcome." She replied nervously biting her lip. That always did drive her nuts.

"Rory, are you joining us for a drink love." Finn asked.

"Umm… well… umm…" Rory started to stutter.

"Of course she's coming." Logan responded.

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

The next morning Rory woke up in a room she did not recognize. As she sat up she noticed that she was completely naked. She looks to her right and sees Logan asleep next to her. She jumps out of bed, grabs her cloths and leaves as quietly as possible not to wake him up.

As she gets into her car, her phone starts ringing. Lane. Just the person she needed to talk to.

"Rory, where have you been? I thought you were going to call after the service." Lane asked.

"Umm… I'm sorry. We all went to Logan's after the service. He insisted that I come have a drink with him and Finn." Rory replied quickly.

"Wow, so everything was cordial? Where are you at? Are we going to meet and discuss?" Lane asked.

"Umm… I'm just leaving Hartford. I think I slept with Logan last night." Rory replied not sure how her friend would react.

"What? Ok we definitely need some girl time. Zack's got the boys. Do you want to meet at your place?" Lane replied.

"Yeah. I'll meet you there." Rory replied.

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

He woke up, looked to his left and saw that she was gone. "What happened?" he said to himself as he got out of bed and put a pair of sweat pants on. As he walks out, he finds Finn passed out on his couch and Collin and Steph in his guest room. As he starts to make some coffee, Steph walks out.

"Mornings like this take me back the Life and Death Brigade parties." Steph said as she sat down at the bar. "Where's Rory? She didn't drive home last night did she?"

"Um… I don't think so. I guess she left this morning. What happened?" Logan asked as he poured two cups of coffee and sat next to his friend.

"Lots and lots of tequila shots." Steph said as she laid her head down. "Last thing I remember was you and Rory out on the patio talking when Collin and I went to bed."

_"You know my dad and I never really got along." Logan said as he poured himself another scotch. "After his first heart attack, I was basically told to stop goofing off in California and come run the company."_

_"I'm sorry Logan. I know you loved your company." Rory replied as she held his hand._

_He looked into her bright blue eyes. They were so comforting. He leaned in and kissed her. Maybe it was the fact that she was feeling a little tipsy herself, she kissed him back. When they finally came up for air, she pulled away from him. "We shouldn't do this. We are both drunk and there is too much history." Somehow she always seemed to be able to keep a little bit of logic in her drunken state._

"So you have no idea where she's at?" Steph asked bringing Logan back from his memory.

"No." He replied.

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_  
"Ok, tell me everything." Lane said as Rory walks out of her bathroom drying her hair from her shower.

"I don't really remember much." Rory replied pouring her and Lane coffee and taking some aspirin.

"So what do you remember?" Lane asked.

"Lots of tequila shots. Lots and lots of tequila shots." Rory said with a laugh.

_"Why did you even come?" Logan asked as Rory moved away._

_"As soon as I heard about your dad, I needed to make sure you were ok." She replied as she rubbed his shoulders._

_He turned around and kissed her. His lips crashed against hers with such passion, she had no choice to kiss her back._

_He sat her down on the chair and ran his hand up her leg. Her silk stockings felt so good to the touch. His hand continued up her leg and rested on her inner thigh. Slowly his hand crept closer to her lace panties. As he slid them to the side, and slow massaged her, she let out a moan. Once he heard that he knew she was his._

"Earth to Rory." Lane said waving her arms in front of her. "Where did you go?"

"Sorry." Rory replied.

"So, did you guys talk?" Lane asked.

"Not really. He basically just told me what happened with his dad and going back to work for the company." Rory said refilling the coffee.

"How did you guys leave things this morning?" Lane asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Well… um… I… um… I kind of left before he woke up." Rory said sheepishly.

"Rory, you need to tell him." Lane said sternly.

"Lane, he had his chance. He didn't answer the phone." Rory said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Thank you for all the follows, favorites & reviews. Here is Chapter 2. My goal is to update once a week.**

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

**_June 2007_**

_"Hey Rory, how is life on the road?" Lane asked enthusiastically_

_"Oh, you know how it goes." Rory replied as she lay in the bed of her hotel room._

_"So where are you today? Are you loving it?" Lane asked._

_"Oklahoma. I am, but I think I've got food poisoning. I have been sick for the past week and a half." Rory replied. "All I can hold down is crackers."_

_"Hey Rory, um… do you remember when I got food poisoning in Mexico on my honeymoon?" Lane replied with a little worry in her voice._

_"Yeah, you had two little parasites growing in you." Rory said with a laugh. "Why are you bringing that up?"_

_"Rory, food poisoning does not last more than a week. Is it possible you can be pregnant?" Lane asked. Rory didn't respond. "Rory?"_

_"Oh god!" Rory replied._

_"Rory?" Lane asked again._

_"Oh no oh no oh no. This can't be happening." Rory replied._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gilmore, I got a story for you." Rory's boss Bill called to her as he walked through the news room.

"What is it?" Rory asked as she jumped up and followed him into his office.

"I want you to do a profile on Logan Huntzberger. He has been doing some great things. Now that he is taking over Huntzberger Publishing, I really want to get an interview with him." Bill said as he sat behind his desk.

"Do you really think I am the right person for this project?" Rory asked.

"I wouldn't be giving this project to you if I didn't. You are meeting with him tomorrow morning so make sure you have done your research." Bill said as he shooed her out of his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Rory was getting ready for her interview with Logan. She was streaming an 80's hair band station on the computer as she got dressed. This always seemed to calm her nerves.

_May 2006_

_"Swingin the bathroom. Swingin' on the floor. Swingin' so hard. We forgot to lock the door. Inwalks her daddy standin six foot four. He said you ain't gonna swing with my daughter no more. She's my cherry pie" Rory hears from the bathroom. She can't help but to laugh as she hears him sing off key as he walks out of the shower._

_"Nervous Ace?" He asks wrapping the towel around him._

_"Extremely. I have a final that I am unprepared for." She replied as she dug through her notes._

_"I'm sure you will be fine. Relax!" He said as continued to sing. "Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise. Taste so good make a grown man cry. Sweet cherry pie."_

_"That song makes me think of stripers" Rory said with a laugh._

_"So are you telling me I need to strip if I sing this song." Logan replied as he started to remove his towel._

_"Stop distracting me. I need to study." Rory replied trying to avoid looking up._

_"You're the one who brought up strippers." He said as proceeded to give her a lap dance._

Rory snapped herself out of the memory. The last thing she needs to do is think about the past if she is going to do her best work today. She turned off the music, grabbed her bag and coffee and headed to Logan's office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rory Gilmore from the Bridgeport Post here to see Mr. Huntzberger." Rory said as she walked in.

"Please have a seat Ms. Gilmore while I contact Mr. Huntzberger." The receptionist replied as Rory took a seat.

A few moments later, a beautiful blonde came out a greeted Rory. "Ms. Gilmore. Hi I am Candice, Mr. Huntzberger's secretary. He asked me to bring you back to his office.

As Rory walked down the hall her hand started to shake. She hadn't seen or talked to him since that night. How was he going to react to her?

"Ms. Gilmore, so nice to see you." He said as she walked in. "Candice, please hold all my calls."

"Yes sir." Candace said a she closed the door behind her.

"How are you doing Mr. Huntzberger?" Rory asked as she sat down.

"Well, I'm glad to see you made it home the other night, or should I say morning." Logan replied. "Why did you leave without waking me up?"

"Logan, it was a drunken night that should not have happened. Can we please just keep this on a professional level?" Rory replied firmly trying not to show that her nerves had her trembling inside. He looked so good in his suit on the other side of the desk. They always did have a sexual tension between them.

"Yes ma'am ." Logan saluted. "Let's get this interview started.

Rory went through some of the standard questions with him. Who are your influences? That type of thing. Then she asked a question that was common in her pieces, however, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"Where do you see yourself in five years?" She asked.

"I'm assuming you mean with the company, not married with children." He replied with a laugh.

**_July 2007_**

_"So, how are you feeling?" Lane asked._

_"Well, the morning sickness has finally gone away." Rory replied. She had taken a home pregnancy test a couple of weeks prior and confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. She then went to a clinic in Oklahoma to get it confirmed by a doctor. At this point she was about eight weeks pregnant. "I am feeling a little achy today."_

_"It's your day off, so try to take it easy. Have you told Logan or your mom yet?" Lane asked._

_"No. Logan still won't answer my calls and I am too embarrassed to tell my mom." Rory replied somberly. "Enough about me. How are the boys? How is Zach's tour going?"_

"Did I lose you?" Logan asked bringing Rory out of her memory.

"Those first few weeks after graduation… I tried to call you." Rory started.

"I know." Logan replied.

"Why didn't you call me back?" Rory asked as a tear streamed down her face.

"Rory." He said as he came around his desk and sat with her. "Do you really want to talk about this now? Where is this coming from?" He asked as he wiped the tear from her cheek.

"Sorry." Rory said as she tried to compose herself.

"Let's get out of here." Logan said as he grabbed her hand. "If you are planning on getting a good interview, we need to talk."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Rory knew he was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, where should we start?" Logan said as he handed her a drink.

"I have no idea." Rory replied as she took a long sip of her drink.

"First off, I think we need to be completely honest with each other. No matter how hard it is. Deal? Logan said holding his hand out.

"Deal." Rory replied shaking his hand. "Why don't you go first?"

"So, what have you been up to the past seven years?" He asked with a grin.

"Work, work and more work. How about you? How are you not married yet?" she replied.

"Same. I guess I have just been too busy to settle down." He replied.

Logan told Rory all about his business in California and how he came back to HPG. Rory told him her adventures on the campaign trail and her job at the paper. Both of them knew that they were eventually going to have to talk about the other night. Logan brought it up.

"Why did you leave the other morning?" Logan asked.

"I…I… had a deadline." Rory replied taking another sip of her drink.

"You know you are still a horrible liar right?" Logan replied. "We said we needed to be completely honest."

"Ok. I was embarrassed. We don't talk for seven years. The first time we see each other we hop into bed." Rory said. "What was I supposed to wake up with you and act like everything was fine?"

"No, but we could of talked. You just left." Logan replied.

"Now you know how it feels." Rory said curtly.

"Low blow Gilmore." Logan said as he got up. "You broke my heart"

"Yeah, I know, but you broke my heart too. I called you for weeks after and you wouldn't talk to me." Rory yelled at him.

"I couldn't." He yelled back. "Every time I saw your number come up on my phone I would just get angry. "

"Did you even listen to my messages?" Rory yelled.

"I couldn't. It was too raw. I didn't want to hear you try to explain yourself." Logan replied trying to calm down.

"You should have listened to them." Rory said as she got up to leave.

"Why wouldn't you marry me?" Logan asked stopping Rory in her tracks.

"We talked about this. We were young and I wanted to see where my career was going." She replied.

"Did you think that I would hold you back?" He asked.

"It wasn't that. Do you really think that I would have got on that bus if we were engaged?" Rory asked.

"I would have never told you that you couldn't go." He replied getting angry.

"I know. It would have been me. I wouldn't have wanted to leave you. And, if I did leave, I don't think I would have stayed on the campaign trail as long as I did." She said pacing the room.

"I'm sorry." He said as he grabbed her glass and poured her another drink. "I shouldn't have walked away. We should have talked. I was just so angry when you said no."

"I'm sorry." She said as tears started to stream down her face. "Logan, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" He said as he grabbed her hand.

"Um…. God this is hard… About two weeks after I left … I um…" She started as the tears streamed down her face.

"Rory, what is it?" He asked rubbing her hand.

"I found out I was pregnant." Rory said as she finished her drink in one gulp.

"Pregnant? How? We were always safe." He asked in shock.

"I must have missed a pill" Rory replied

"Are you telling me I have a kid? That I have had a kid for seven years that you didn't tell me about!" He yelled.

"First off, I called you for weeks after I found out. You never returned my calls!" She yelled back.


	3. Chapter 3

**__****Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**_A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews and follows. They really do appreciate all of them._**

**_To the Guest that asked if Logan and Rory will have their happy ending. Yes, they just have a lot to work through before they get there._**

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

**_July 2007_**

_"Rory, you don't look good. Are you ok?" Her friend Pete asked as he passed her in the hall._

_"I'm in a lot of pain." Rory said as she grabbed her stomach._

_"I think you need to go to the hospital." Pete said as he put her arm around his neck and helped her down to a taxi._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you kept my kid from me for seven years." Logan yelled now pacing the room.

"No, I didn't keep your kid from you." Rory replied.

"Did you have an abortion?" He asked.

"No!" She yelled back. "I had a miscarriage. I lost our baby Logan!"

"Rory, I'm sorry." He said calming down.

"I tried to call you so many times. I called you when I found out that I was pregnant, and when I lost our baby and you wouldn't return my calls. I called you every other day for two months. Two months Logan! I was alone and not only dealing with the broken heart of not having you, but with the broken heart of losing the unexpected last piece I had of you." She yelled at him as the tears streamed down her face. "I have to go."

"Rory, wait!" Logan called to her, but it was too late. She was out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**_July 2007_**

_"You've reached Logan, you know the drill." Voicemail again._

_"Hey Logan, it's me again. This is officially my last call. After two months of unreturned calls I give up. Today everything that was us has died and I can't take the hurt anymore. I love you and am sorry I hurt you. I really do wish you nothing but the best. I'm sorry that wasn't me."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Honor, I fucked up." He said into the phone.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with Rory." Honor replied. "What happened?"

"I fucked up." He repeated

"How did you fuck up Logan?" She asked.

"I was an ass." He replied.

"Are we talking past or present?" She asked.

"Past." He answered

"I told you that seven years ago. What has made you see the light?" She asked with a laugh.

"After I moved to Palo Alto and Rory went to work on the campaign, she called me. She called me every couple of days for two months. I would never answer and never call her back." He replied.

"You were hurt Logan. I'm sure she will understand." She said.

"I would listen to her voicemails begging me to call her and I wouldn't do it." He stated.

"I get it. You were an ass. Apologize and get over it." Honor said feeling her brother was being overly dramatic.

"Honor, she was calling to tell me she was pregnant."

"What?"

"She was pregnant and she lost the baby while she was on the campaign trail."

"Oh my gosh Logan." She replied not really knowing what to say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rory had got back to her place and decided to go for a run. This was a habit she picked up on the campaign trail after she had lost the baby, to clear her head. She was about half way through her run, when the Bangles I'll set you free starts coming over her phone.

"Hi mom." She answers.

"Hey kid. What are you doing?" Lorelai asks.

"Running." She replied as she slows her pace to a walk.

"So the interview went that well?" Lorelai asks sarcastically.

"Yeah, I only got about halfway through before we got into it." She replied.

"I was hoping you were going to tell me it went great and your article was finished so that you could come visit mommy." Lorelai said sounding disappointed. "Liam misses you."

"I'm probably going to have to work on it all weekend. I miss him too." Rory replied. "If I finish early, I will try to make it up there to see you."

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Right now all I need to do is clear my mind. I need to stop thinking of all the emotional stuff and focus on the article."

"If you decide you need to talk, I'm just a phone call away."

"I know mom. Thank you. I will try to come see you this weekend. Give Luke and Liam a kiss from me." Rory said as she hung up the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rory returned to her apartment and decided to start her article. She had more than enough research on him. She has had the man on Goggle Alert for years, but did she have enough. As hard as she tried to write the article it didn't seem right. The first draft she felt was cold and distant. Her second draft felt like it had too much emotion in it. She sat staring at the screen with just the words "Logan Huntzberger" typed on the page.

"I need to get out of here." Rory said to herself as she closed her laptop. She was grabbing her coat and her keys when her phone started to ring. Looking at her caller ID she saw that it was Natasha. Nora from the DAR had introduced Rory to Natasha about three years ago, when she was trying to convenience her niece to join.

"Rory, what are you doing tonight?" Natasha asked as Rory answered.

"Nothing. Are you in town?" Rory replied.

"Yes, I came in early for the DAR fundraiser next week. You are attending?"

"I was informed that I must attend. Emily has advised that since I am no longer in Washington, I must start attending. Now that I know that you will be there, I think I might actually enjoy this one." Rory replied with a laugh. "Where are you, I am in desperate need of a night out?"

"Hartford. I am at this awesome bar with some very cute guys. Come meet me."

Rory looks at her watch. "I wish I could, but by the time I get ready and drive out there, I'll have to turn around and come back." She replied disappointed. "I don't have to go in Friday. How about we meet up Friday for shopping and lunch?"

"Sounds good, Ror. Call me tomorrow."

"Will do. Have fun."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Finn, it has been a long day. Can we please just call it a night?" Logan asked as his friend order another round of drinks.

"Mate, the night is still young." Finn replied as he took a drink. "Besides you need to tell me how it went with the beautiful Miss Gilmore."

"I don't really want to talk about it." He said as he drank his drink in one gulp.

"That good, eh. " Finn replied as he ordered another round.

"Let's just say that there was a lot of yelling and tears." Logan replied thinking back on his day.

"So when is round two?" Finn asked.

"What do you mean round two?" Logan asked confused.

"Look mate, I saw the look in your eye at the funeral and at your apartment that night. You miss her. We all miss her. However, if you want to even attempt to be friends again, you will need to battle it out a few more rounds."

"After today, I don't know if she will ever want to talk to me again."

"Oh, you guys will talk again. You two are going to be together again, I guarantee it. Do you think it was just chance that her editor chose her of all he writers at that paper to do an article on you? It is fate. Mark my words, one day we will be attending a Gilmore-Huntzberger wedding."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Finn? Fate is bull shit. Her editor chose her to interview me because she is the best writer at that paper. "

"Fate is not bull shit. It will bring you together. Mark my words." Finn replied as he spots a redhead at the bar. "Just as fate bought us to this bar so I could meet that lovely redhead over there."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

**_A/N: Sorry for the delay. This chapter is a little bit of filler. As always thank you for all the reviews and follows. I really do appreciate all of them._**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It amazed him how without even knowing it, he could still feel her presence when she walked into a room. It had been a week since the interview. He unconsciously watched her work the room, fake society smile in place. He didn't see a real smile until her date walked up. Suddenly he felt angry. Who was this guy with his girl? Then he remembered, she wasn't "his" girl anymore. She hadn't been for seven years and after there last conversation, she wouldn't be for at least another seven years. Why didn't he just answer the damn phone?

"Why are we attending a DAR event again?" Colin asked bringing Logan's focus back to the table.

"Babe, we are here to meet Finn's soul mate." Steph said with a chuckle.

"Do you remember her name this time?" Colin asked remembering all those times at Yale they went on a mission for Finn's soul mates.

"Yes." Finn replied shooting Colin daggers. "Now stop acting like an ass, she is on her way over."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"She seriously said if you keep bringing gay men as dates, you will never find a husband." Rory said with a laugh as she and her friend Pete headed toward their table.

"Only Emily" Pete replied.

"I thought that we agreed that I we would avoid my grandmother until I at least had one drink in my system." Rory replied frustrated with the whole encounter with her grandmother.

"Wow, you channeled Lorelai there for a minute." Pete replied as he handed her a martini.

"I know. I love her, but since I have been back from Washington it is all 'Rory, aren't getting any younger. I want great-grandchildren'. There is only so much of that you can take. "

"Well, just be happy that the inevitable guilt trip is out of the way. Let's find Natasha and meet this new boy toy of hers."

"You know, she has been out with him almost every night this week."

"I know, the way she has been acting, I'm afraid you guys are going to leave me alone in Washington."

"Oh Petey, do you miss me?" She said sarcastically.

"Yes, actually. All those other reports are too serious. I have no one to gossip with anymore." He said with a laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Natasha, these are my best mates, Colin, Steph and you remember Logan." Finn introduced as she came up to the table.

"Yes. Logan it is so good to see you again." Natasha said as she shook his hand. "Colin, Steph it is so great to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Steph replied.

"So Love, where is these friends of yours." Finn asked.

"Hm… Good question. They should be her by now." Natasha said looking around. "Oh, there they are. Pete, Rory, over here."

"Rory?" Logan questioned as he followed her line of sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suddenly Rory stops in her tracks.

"What's going on?" Pete asked as he turned to her.

"Did Natasha happen to tell you the name of the guy she met last week?" She asked staring at the table.

"No, you know Natasha. She called him her… what was is… Oh yeah, her little fishy." Pete replied with a chuckle.

"Shit." She mumbled under her breath.

"Rory, what's going on?" Pete asked.

"Shit… shit… shit. " She mumbled again.

"Rory?" Pete said as he grabbed her hand.

She closed her eyes for a second trying to compose herself. "Logan is at our table." She replied.

"You mean, The Logan." Pete replied.

"Yes, The Logan. How is it that I can go seven years without seeing him once to seeing him three times in the span of two weeks?"

"I don't know." Pete said with a laugh as he led her to the table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know Rory?" Natasha asked Logan.

"Um… yeah… We went to Yale together." Logan replied still watching Rory talk to her date.

Suddenly Natasha put the pieces together. When they had met at the bar, none of them had exchanged last names. Even when Finn told her that they went to Yale, she didn't put the pieces together. "Oh my god… You are that Logan." Natasha replied.

"So, what have we missed?" Pete asked as he walked over to Natasha and kissed her on the cheek.

"Not much." Natasha replied with a smile.

An awkward silence had surrounded the table. Finally Pete decided to break the silence.

"So Natasha, are you going to introduce me? Pete asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Pete, this is Finn, Colin, Steph and Logan. Pete is my very good friend from DC." Natasha replied as they all shook hands. "And you all know Rory."

"You could say that." Finn said with a chuckle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once the alcohol started to flow, everyone started to lighten up. They were reminiscing of stories about Yale.

"I can't believe Rory was afraid to jump off a seven story scaffold. This is the girl that jumped off a twenty foot cliff in Jamaica. Then what was it you told me to convince me to jump? People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute. Jump you little girl." Pete said with a laugh.

"Stealing my lines now." Logan said as he looked Rory in the eye. He had been avoiding this all night.

"They are words to live by." Rory replied locking eyes with him. Suddenly she felt like she was back at Yale. She could get lost in those eyes and part of her wanted to. But the responsible part of her told her that they had to work out their issues before she could even think about getting lost in those eyes again.

"So Rory, what made you decide to come back?" Steph asked breaking her from her gaze.

"A lot of reasons. As much as I loved working with Pete, being a White House correspondent became mundane. I needed to change it up a bit, but wasn't sure what I wanted to do. When my grandpa got diagnosed with cancer, I decided that I needed to spend as much time as possible with him. Then there was Liam. I pretty much missed the first five years of his life. So, I decided to take a job close to home. I'm an hour away from Hartford and a half hour away from Stars Hallow." Rory replied.

"I'm sorry to hear about Richard. How is he doing?" Logan asked full of concern.

"He has his good days and his bad days." Rory replied looking a little sad. "Anyways, on to happier subjects. I still can't believe Natasha and Finn. What are the odds?

"Love, I will tell you the same thing I told Logan that night. It was fate." Finn replied.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

**_A/N: I apologize for the delay. This took me a little bit longer than I expected. As always thank you all for the favorites, follows and reviews._**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been two weeks since the DAR event. Natasha was in town for the monthly DAR meeting to discuss the next charity event that they would be planning and had decided to spend the weekend with Rory.

"So where is Finn tonight?" Rory asked as she sat down with a bowl of popcorn.

"Oh, my fishy had to work tonight. He is opening a new club it the city and things haven't been going according to schedule." Natasha replied. "So what are we going to watch?"

"What are you in the mood for? Chick flick, comedy, drama?" Rory asked as they scroll through the _Netflix _options.

"Oh _Say Anything_. There is nothing better than 80's chick flicks." Natasha said as Rory starts the movie.

They were about half way through the movie when there was a knock on the door.

"Are you expecting somebody?" Rory asked Natasha.

"Um… Does it look like I am expecting anyone?" Natasha replied looking down at her yoga pants and tank top.

"I finally found you love. Is the beautiful Natasha with you?" a very drunk Finn asked as Rory answered the door.

"Fishy, I thought you had to work tonight." Natasha said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Please tell me didn't drive yourself down here." Rory said as Natasha brought him in.

"He didn't." Logan replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About an hour later, Logan and Rory were sitting out on Rory's deck by the fire. Finn and Natasha had made just made their way back into the house.

"I have been meaning to tell you, I really liked the article." Logan said trying to make conversation.

"Thanks. I must have written about fifteen different versions and I still wasn't satisfied with the final draft." Rory replied nervously.

"Well, I think it was really good." Logan replied.

They sat for a few minutes in uncomfortable silence.

"This is weird. You know, I didn't think that I would ever talk to you again, and now you are sitting on my deck drinking a beer." Rory said with a laugh shaking her head.

"Can I ask you something?" Logan asked.

"Sure." Rory replied.

"If you didn't think you would ever talk to me again, why did you come to the funeral?" Logan asked.

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" Rory replied remembering that night.

"Yes and no. The question was asked…" Logan started.

"And answered." Rory interrupted.

"Yes, however we got a little distracted and did not finish the conversation." Logan continued.

"Ok. I guess you are right. I came to the funeral because I wanted to make sure you were ok. I was planning on just sitting in the back and sneaking out before you saw me." Rory replied.

"But why? I mean, with everything you went through after we broke up and you having to go through it on your own, I figured you would hate me." Logan asked.

"Because part of me will always love you." Rory replied as she looked down and took a sip of her beer.

"You love me, but you couldn't marry me?" He asked starting to get angry.

"Logan, we talked about this." Rory replied.

"Yeah, we were young; you wanted to see where your career was going. Why was your career more important than being with me?" Logan asked still angry.

"I was scared. The girl who had her whole life planned out had no idea what was going to happen after she accepted that diploma. I was starting to accept that especially after we talked and you told me not to base my decisions on you. We would work it out and then you go and plan my whole life for me." Rory yelled back at him.

"How did I plan your whole life?" Logan yelled.

"You propose out of nowhere. Then suddenly I am supposed to uproot my whole life and move across the country with no job. I couldn't do that." Rory yelled back.

"I loved you. I wanted to be with you. Wasn't that enough for you?" Logan asked.

"If you loved me so much, why did you give me that ultimatum?" Rory asked. "Remember, it had to be all or nothing and when you didn't get your way, you stomped off like a five year old throwing a temper tantrum."

"I wanted you with me. I didn't want to go back to how it was when I was in London, talking on the phone instead of seeing you every day. I didn't want to do that again." Logan replied.

"Then why didn't you answer when I called you? If all you wanted was to be with me, than why couldn't you pick up the phone or even call me back?" Rory asked.

"Rory, I was hurt. In three years I went from thinking I wasn't boyfriend material to wanting to spend the rest of my life with only you. When you said no, it broke my heart. The stubborn side of me kept me from answering your calls or even calling you back." Logan replied. "Now, knowing why you were calling, I regret not answering or calling you back."

"You said your stubborn side kept you from calling me back. Did you listen to my messages?" Rory asked.

"I was angry Rory." Logan said.

"Logan, this is a yes or no question. Did you listen to my messages?" Rory asked getting angry.

"Yes, but like I said…" Logan started.

"You listened to me beg you to call me back, telling you I had something I needed to talk to you about?" Rory asked.

"I'm sorry Rory. I was angry and hurt. I thought that the only reason you were calling was because you regretted saying no and that you were changing your mind. I know it was childish, but I wanted to hurt you like you hurt me, so I didn't call you back. I have been kicking myself every day since you told me." Logan replied.

"Job well done; you certainly hurt me." Rory said as she got up to go in the house.

"Rory, wait. I'm sorry. What can I do or say to show you that I regret everything I did?" Logan said as he grabbed her hand.

"I don't know." Rory said as she walked in to the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning after not sleeping, Rory went for a run to clear her mind. When she got back to the house she went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee then to take a shower. After her shower she went back in the kitchen poured herself a cup of coffee, turned on her music and started to clean up from the prior night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan ended up spending the night on Rory's couch. Having not really slept all night, the door closing caught his attention. He watched her in her own world start her coffee and head back toward her room then come back out after her shower. He thought about how if he had only answered the phone or called her back, his life would be so different now. They could possibly be married. This could have been his life every morning. When he heard the music start, he realized she had no idea that he was there. He watched her as she sang and danced to _Fell In Love With A Girl _while she did the dishes.

"Is there anymore coffee?" He asked from behind her causing her to jump.

"You scared the shit out of me." She said as she turned around. "What are you still doing here?"

"We came in Finn's car. I couldn't really leave him." He replied as she handed him a mug.

"I guess not." Rory replied.

"You were up early." He commented as he sat at the breakfast bar.

"I didn't really sleep, so I went for a run." Rory replied.

"A what? I thought Gilmore's didn't exercise." Logan replied with a laugh.

"I know. My mom thinks I'm crazy." Rory replied with a laugh. "I started it while I was working on the campaign. When you are on a bus with twenty reporters, you need to do something to get away. It was only time I could be alone and clear my head. Just put my ear buds in and let everything fade away."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Logan replied. "What are you doing today? Do you want to go get some breakfast? I hate how we ended things last night."

"Unfortunately, I can't do breakfast." Rory replied as she looked at her watch. "I have to be in Hartford in about an hour, which means I have to leave now."

"Oh, ok." Logan replied a little disappointed.

"If you don't want to wait for Finn to wake up, I can give you a ride." Rory said.

"That would be great. Thanks." Logan replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Confirm the appointment with the editor of the Boise Sun Times and then enjoy the rest of your Saturday." Logan said as he hung up the phone. They were about twenty minutes into their drive and he had been on the phone the whole time. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." Rory replied.

They were sitting in uncomfortable silence when Logan decided to break the tension.

"What are we listening to?" Logan asked referring to the music on the radio.

"_She's Got Me Dancing by Tommy Sparks." _Rory replied. "You don't like it?"

"Not really my style." He said as he grabbed her MP3 player. "Do you mind?"

"No, go ahead." She replied.

"Oh, I got it." He said as he put on _Sweet Little Sister by Skid Row._

"I'm sorry, is my dad in the car?" Rory asked with a laugh. "We are not listening to this."

"Why not? It's a good song." Logan replied with a laugh.

"No wonder you and my dad got along so well." Rory replied with a laugh as she grabbed the MP3 player. "Oh, I got it."

"Should I be scared?" Logan asked.

"No, this is the perfect road trip song." Rory replied as _Love Roller Coaster by the Red Hot Chili Peppers _started to play.

"Really?" He asked with a laugh. "You really think this is better?"

"Yes, I do." She replied as started to sing. "_Your love is like a roller coaster baby baby . I wanna ride."_

Logan just looked at her and left. After a minute he was singing along with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they reached Hartford, they were laughing and joking with each other.

"I've missed this." Logan said as they pulled up to his building.

"Me too." Rory replied with a smile.

"Do you think I could take you out sometime?" Logan asked.

"Logan, I don't think that would be a good idea." Rory replied.

"Look, I know we can't go back to how it was. Too much has happened, but I would like to be friends again. With Finn and Natasha being together, we are probably going to see each other. Wouldn't it be nice to be around each other without our past hanging over us?" Logan asked.

"Do you really think we can do that?" Rory asked.

"I'm willing to try if you are." Logan replied.

"I don't know." Rory replied.

"Come on Ace. Take a risk." Logan replied.

"Ok." She wasn't sure if it was the fact that he called her Ace or that he was pushing her to take a risk. "Call me later and we will set something up."


	6. Chapter 6

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

**_A/N: As always thank you all for the favorites, follows and reviews._**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_He attacked her lips with so much passion as they walk through the door. They leave a path of discarded clothes as they make their way to the bedroom. As he lays her on the bed he suckles on her neck on the spot he knows drives her crazy. She lets out a light moan as his hand travels down her body. First stopping at her breast, removing her bra to fully massage them as he slowly kisses down her body. Attacking her luscious breast, sucking and nibbling on her nipples as his hands traveled further down her body. His hands reach the waist band of her lacey panties and quickly slide underneath. It takes him no time to slide his fingers in her moist folds, massaging her clit as she starts to moan louder. As he rubs harder, she wants nothing more than to feel him inside her. As he begins to slide her panties down her legs she suddenly hears "Wake me up before you go go."_

Why did she let her mother buy her that alarm clock? This has been the third time this week she has had very sexy dreams of Logan. They had met up a few times for drinks and lunch. Keeping things very casual.

She turned off her alarm and rolled over to go back to sleep when she remembered why her alarm clock was going off on a Saturday. She was supposed to be in Stars Hallow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, I have been having dreams about Logan lately." She said to Lane as they set up for the twin's birthday party.

"Well, you guys have been hanging out." Lane replied.

"No, I mean 'dreams' about him." Rory said emphasizing the word dreams.

"Really?" Lane asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Rory replied. "So, what do you think it means?"

"I think it is your subconscious' way of telling you that you really want to have sex with him." Lane said as she looked at Rory.

"No, we are just friends." Rory replied as she blew up some balloons.

"You guys have never been just friends. Do you really think that is going to work?" Lane asked taking the balloons from Rory.

"Yes. We are being very logical about this. We know that there is no way we can go back to where we were seven years ago and with Finn and Natasha dating, we are bound to be someplace together. So instead of making things awkward, we are putting our past behind us and trying to be friends."

"That sounds very logical; however your subconscious is telling you want something else." Lane said with a smile.

"Lane, we are just friends." Rory replied as she turned to get more balloons.

"Who are you just friends with? You have a new man in your life and you forgot to tell mommy?" Lorelei asked as she walked up with Liam.

"Logan." Lane answered for Rory.

"You're hanging out with Logan again?" Lorelei asked.

"I told you about this." Rory said as she walked over to Liam. "Are you ready to have fun today?" Rory asked as she gave her brother a hug.

"Yeah." Liam replied. "Can I go play now?"

"Yeah, let's go find Steve & Kwan." Lane said leaving Rory and Lorelei to talk.

"So, what's going on with you and Logan?" Lorelei asked.

"I told you, we are trying to be friends now that Finn and Natasha are dating. We have gone out a few times, nothing big." Rory replied.

"So, what made him the topic of conversation this morning?" Lorelei asked.

"Nothing. Lane was just asking me how it was going." Rory lied.

"How is it going?" Lorelei asked.

"Fine. We have gone out for drinks a few times and he has met me for lunch when I was in Hartford. Nothing big." Rory replied.

"Sounds very casual." Lorelei said as she helped Rory with the decorations.

"It is." Rory replied.

"Just be careful babe. I don't want him to hurt you again."

"Mom, I will be fine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a couple of days after the party and Rory was sitting at her desk when her cell phone started to ring. Looking at the caller ID she smiled as she answered the phone.

"So where are you today?" She asked as she answered.

"The middle of fucking nowhere, also known as Cedar Rapids, Iowa." Logan replied.

"It's not that bad there." Rory said with a laugh.

"How can you say that? There is nothing to do here." He replied.

"I spent a week there on the campaign trail. I know there is not much going on there, but it is not that bad. How are things going?" She asked.

"Good. If we keep this pace, we should be done by the end of the week." He replied.

"So, you will be back for the Memorial Day barbecue?" She asked.

"Looks that way." He replied.

"Ok, well I should get back to work. I'll see you on Monday." Rory said as she hung up the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're early." Rory said as she answered the door.

"You never gave me a time." Logan said as she let him in.

"I'm sure I gave you a time." She said as she made her way back to the kitchen.

"Nope, you just said and I quote 'I am having a barbecue on Monday. You should come.' Never gave me a time." He said as he followed her. "What can I do to help, you know since I am apparently early?"

"There's not much. I was just getting the drinks together. Sookie is bringing most of the food." Rory replied as she pulled out bottles of soda. "Do you want something to drink? I have soda and beer in here. The harder stuff is already out on the deck?"

"I'll take a beer." He replied.

"Ok. Well, make yourself comfortable. If you will excuse me, I am going to go get changed." Rory said as she handed him a beer and headed toward her room.

As he heard the shower turn on, he wanted nothing more than to be invited to join her. He knew that he had initiated the "let's just be friends" situation, but the more time he spent with her, the more he couldn't get her off his mind. It took all his will power not to kiss her as soon as he saw her and with the dreams he had been having about her lately, it was making things more difficult.

She came down the stairs in a pair of cut off shorts that gave him a nice view of her legs. As he looked up she was pulling a t-shirt over her bikini top. This day was going to be harder than he thought.

He was leaning on the breakfast bar as she was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on everything. She was reaching for a bowl in a cabinet giving him a nice view of her ass in her cut off shorts when the doorbell rang.

"Would you mind getting that? It is probably Finn & Natasha." She asked as she turned around.

"Sure." He said as he headed toward the door.

"We come bearing lots of food." Lorelei shouted as she walked in the door. She stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw Logan.

"Hi Lorelei, let me get that from you." Logan said as he put down his beer and grabbed the tray of food from her hands.

"Hi Logan. Long time no see." She replied curtly.

"Mom, did you ring the doorbell? You never ring the doorbell." Rory rushed over to greet her mother. "You guys can put all the food in the kitchen." Logan made his way to the kitchen followed by Luke and Sookie.

"Rory, do I get to play in the ocean today?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, we will go out later with Davey, Martha, Jacks, Steve and Kwan" Rory replied. "Do you want to watch cartoons while we wait for them?"

"Yeah!" Liam yelled as they walked toward the den.

"So, you didn't tell me Logan was going to be here today." Lorelei said as she followed Rory and Liam to the other room.

"I wasn't sure he was going to be able to make it. He has been out of town." Rory replied. "I told you we were hanging out."

"I know. It just was a little unexpected" Lorelei replied. "Next time give me the heads up, you know 'hey mom, don't be surprised if you walk in to my house and find my ex-boyfriend. ' Then I could have been prepared."

"I'm sorry. Next time I will warn you. You are going to be nice right?" Rory asked.

"I am always nice."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know, you don't have to stay. You must be tired from all the traveling you have been doing." Rory said as Logan helped her clean up.

"I am actually surprisingly awake." He said as he picked up some cups.

"After all that parting you did in Iowa?" She said with a laugh.

"Funny." He said as he threw an ice cube at her.

"Hey!" She yelled brushing the melted ice off her shoulder. "That wasn't very nice." She said as she threw a piece back at him.

"Who ever accused me of being nice?" He said as he dropped a piece down the back of her shirt.

"It's on now Huntzberger." She said picking up the ice bucket.

"What are you planning on doing with that, Ace?" He asked with a laugh as he grabbed the bucket. She held it up, attempting to dump it over his head when he started to wrestle it away from her. He walked her back toward the benches that surrounded the fire pit. As she felt the bench hit the back of her knees, she lost her footing falling on the bench, pulling him on top of her in the process. As he laid on top of her, she looked into his brown eyes. Losing herself in his eyes, she leaned in and kissed him. His hand moved to her cheek as he kissed her back. The sound of Rory's phone ringing brought them back to reality. Logan quickly moved off of her as she answered the phone.

"Hi mom." Rory said recognizing the ringtone.

"Hey kid. Do you need me to come over tomorrow and help you get everything cleaned up?" Lorelei asked.

"No, Logan I have it under control." Rory said as she continued to pick up empty cups.

"So Logan is still there?" Lorelei asked with a tone that told Rory she didn't like it. "He is planning on going home?"

"Yes." Rory responded annoyed.

"I know how you can be when it comes to him. I just don't want you to fall for his charms and get your heart broken again."

"I know mom. Can we talk about this later?"

"Yeah. Call me tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you too." Rory said as she hung up.

"Um… sorry about that." Rory said to Logan as she shifted from side to side.

"It's ok. How were you supposed to know your mom was going to call?" he said with a laugh.

"No, not about that. I meant about the…" She started.

"I know what you meant." He said as he grabbed her hand trying to calm her down. "Forget about it."

"It's just that we are trying to do this just friends thing and then I go and screw it up." Rory rambled.

"You didn't screw it up." He said.

"Yes I did. How can we be friends when I kissed you? Friends don't kiss; it's in the rule book or something. I crossed the line and I am really sorry." She rambled on.

"Rory, its fine. Forget about it." He said.

They finished cleaning up in silence. When they we done he left, kissing her on the cheek and telling her he would call her the next day. As much as he kept telling her things were fine, she knew that kiss had changed something between them.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

**_A/N: As always thank you all for the favorites, follows and reviews._**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a few weeks since the barbecue and Rory and Logan hadn't talked much. He had a lot going on and for the past two weeks had been out of town on business. So she was very surprised to see him sitting on her porch swing when she pulled up to her house. It reminded her of being at Yale when he would wait for her by the coffee cart after class.

"Did we have plans that I forgot about?" She asked as she got out of the car.

"Yes and no. Last time we spoke I said that we should get together when I get back; and since I'm back…" He said with a smile.

"You thought that you would just stop by?" she asked.

"You know I have always been spontaneous." He said with his trademark smirk.

"Well, you are interrupting my hot date." She smiled. "Ben and Jerry are going to be very disappointed."

"So sorry to ruin you big Friday night plans." He laughed as she opened the door.

"Big plans, pizza, trash TV, and Ben and Jerry." She replied with a laugh as she walked toward the kitchen to put the ice cream away. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Sure. What do you have?" He replied.

"Water, milk that is just about to expire, soda, beer and half a bottle of wine. Sorry, I wasn't expecting company." She says shyly.

"I'll take a beer." He replies with a smile.

"I'll make sure to have a better beverage selection the next time you come over." She says as she hands him a beer and takes one for herself.

"I'd appreciate that." He replied with a smirk. "So, what do you want to do tonight?"

"I actually have a pizza on the way. I wasn't kidding about my big plans for the night." She said with a laugh. "Maybe we can have dinner here and go out for drinks after."

"Or we can go with your original plan." He replied.

"You mean just hang out and watch TV?" She asked.

"Why not? I have been traveling for two weeks straight; it'd be nice just to have a night in." He replied.

"If you didn't want to go out, why did you make the hour drive down here?" She asked.

"I wanted to see you." He replied.

"Oh. Umm… well I am going to get comfortable. If dinner comes while I am upstairs, money is by the door." She said nervously as she walked out of the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doorbell rang shortly after Rory heads up the stairs. As Logan answered the door he found Lorelei on the other side.

"Logan, I wasn't expecting you." Lorelei said as he opens the door.

"I surprised Rory." He said as he moved aside to let her in.

"You seem to be coming over here a lot. What are you doing Logan?" Lorelei asked.

"I'm here to hang out with Rory?" he replied.

"Bull shit. What are you doing?" she asked.

"Lorelei, I am just here to hang out, have a few beers, watch some TV. You know, what friends do." He replied.

"Friends?" She questioned.

"Look Lorelei, I know I am probably the last person you want hanging out with your daughter."

"You could say that again." She mumbled under her breath.

"But, I want to make up for the past. I know I didn't handle things well when she turned down my proposal, but Rory and I have talked about it. We are working through this. I know that I can never make up for not being there when everything happened with the baby…"

"What are you talking about? What baby?" Lorelei interrupted.

"Not being there, refusing to take her calls when she found out that she was pregnant…" Logan replied confused.

"What are you talking about?" Lorelei asked as Rory walked down the stairs. "Rory, what is he talking about?"

"Seven years ago." He replied as he noticed that Rory was giving him the evil eye. Suddenly he came to the realization. "You never told your mom?"

"Rory, what is he talking about?" Lorelei asked again.

"Logan, maybe it would be best if you…" Rory started.

"Yeah, call me later." He said as he walked out the door.

"So, are you going to tell me what he was talking about?" Lorelei asked as Logan walked out.

"Um… why don't we sit down?" Rory said as they moved the couch.

"Ok, I'm sitting, now tell me."

Just as Rory was about to speak, the doorbell rang. "Just a minute." Rory said as she answered the door. She mentally thanked the pizza guy, giving her an extra minute to prepare herself.

"Ok Rory. No more delaying." Lorelei said as Rory set the pizza on the coffee table.

"I'm sorry mom. This is not how I wanted you to find out. Actually at this point I really didn't think you would find out, but I should have been the one to tell you." Rory rambled.

"Rory…" Lorelei stopped the ramble. The more Rory rambled, the angrier Lorelei would get.

"Ok…" Rory said as she took a deep breath. "A couple of weeks after I started on the campaign, I was sick. Remember?" She started as she looked at her mother who nodded remembering the beginning of the trip. "Well, one day I was talking to Lane, telling her what was going on. I had told her that I thought I had food poisoning. Lane reminded me when she thought she had food poisoning and asked if it was possible. I thought about it and realized that it was, so I took the test and it came back positive. Then I went to a clinic on the road, and got the same results." She said looking down, a lone tear running down her cheek. "I lost the baby about a month after I found out."

"But, why didn't you tell me?" Lorelei asked her tone full of concern.

"I was hurt and embarrassed. Logan wasn't taking my calls." She replied the tears now streaming down her face.

"I don't understand. Did you think I would judge you? Because, honestly, I am in no position to judge." Lorelei asked.

"No, I thought that you would judge him. You hated him, and I knew if I told you that he wasn't taking my calls, you would just add it to your reasons Lorelei hates the Huntzberger family list." Rory replied.

"I didn't hate Logan."

"Yes you did. You hated him and his family and you still do."

"Rory, all I wanted was for you to be happy. That's all I still want. Yes, I hated his family. They were arrogant and mean and treated you horribly. I will never deny that fact. As for Logan, I had been through all your highs and lows with you, and I'm sorry kid, but I remember all the lows. When things first started with him, you laying on my bathroom floor, crying, when he basically broke up with you through his sister, the bridesmaid debacle, the trip to Vegas with dumb and dumber not telling you everything that was going on with his dad."

"I got over that. Why can't you?"

"Because you are my kid and I worry about you. Sometimes I think you are blinded by his charm and I think it is happening again."

"We are just friends."

"You two have never been just friends and I don't think you ever will be."

"We are now. Please, just trust me to make my own decision about Logan."

"Rory…"

"Mom, I can handle this."

"Fine." Lorelei said still clearly upset. "I think I am going to go then."

"Wait, you never told me why you came by." Rory replied.

"Oh… Luke took Liam on a fishing trip so I thought I would come down and hang out with you. Maybe have a movie night."

"Um… we still could." Rory said feeling guilty about ruining her mother's plans.

"No, it's ok. I think I need to go home and process."

"Mom, I'm sorry."

"I know." Lorelei said as she left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after Lorelei left, there was a knock on Rory's door.

"What are you still doing down here? I thought you would have headed home." She asked as Logan stood on her porch.

"I thought that you might need a friend." He replied.

"Thanks." She said as she moved aside to let him in. "What did you sit in your car and wait for her to leave?"

"No, I was at the pub down the way. Did you know that they have bad Karaoke on Friday nights? We may have to remember that the next time I am here on a Friday." He said as he walked in. "So, how did it go?"

"Not good. She is really mad." Rory said as she walked to the kitchen and grabbed out a couple of beers. "There is cold pizza if you want some."

"Thanks." He replied as he grabbed the beer from her. "I would imagine she was mad. Can I ask you a question?"

"Why didn't I tell her?" She asked.

"Yeah, I mean when we were together you shared everything with her. I would think she would have been one of your first phone calls."

"Well, I thought that you should be the first to know. Then when the weeks passed and I still couldn't get a hold of you, I couldn't tell her. She would ask how you felt about it and what was I supposed to say 'oh Logan, yeah he won't take my calls.' You guys weren't on the best of terms when we were together; could you imagine how she would have felt about that? I just couldn't handle that. Then when I lost the baby, I was just completely heart broken. I would imagine telling her and her saying things like 'maybe this was for the best. The last thing you need is a twenty-four hour reminder of Logan running around.' The sad part is, deep down I know she would have cried with me and tried to make me feel better, but those phrases just circled around in my head." She said as the memories of that day came back and the tears started to flow.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Rory. You shouldn't have gone through that alone." He said as he hugged her.

"You know, for a while I blamed myself. Maybe I did something wrong. Was I too stressed? Was I not eating right? Was I being punished for not marring you when you asked? I mean, logically I know that's not why, but the thought was there. Then I thought about having to explain over and over everything that happened. I didn't want have to go over it again and again, so I decided not to tell anyone. Before I told you, the only people who knew about the whole pregnancy were Lane and Pete, and the only reason Pete found out was because he got me to the hospital."

"I told Honor." He said.

"It's ok. I know I just kind of threw it at you that day, you probably needed someone to talk to." She said as she wiped her tears. "You know, it's weird. I pushed the memories of that day so deep that it was almost like I would forget about it. I would be going on with my life as if I never was pregnant, I never had a miscarriage, but this time of year, it always comes back. "

"Rory…" He started.

"The reason I was planning a quiet night at home tonight was because this afternoon it hit me. Seven years ago today I took that home pregnancy test. The memories came flooding back. It was almost like I was back in the hotel room, alone, looking down at the stupid happy face. Then, seeing you sitting on my porch waiting for me, like you would do at Yale, made the sadness go away. I was suddenly taken back to a better time where we were happy; there was no proposal, no pregnancy, no miscarriage. Just you and me." She said as she looked at him. Tears still streaming from her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said as he wiped the tears from her eyes. "I wish I could go back and change everything, I really do. I regret not answering your calls, acting like a child, trying to hurt you. "

"I know, but what's done is done. "

They sat for a while in silence, both of them thinking about their regrets. Rory's head on Logan's chest as he rubbed he back. After a few minutes, he heard her breath even out and he knew she was asleep. He started to get up, when she grabbed his arm.

"Will you stay with me tonight? I really don't want to be alone." She asked as she looked into his eyes.

"Of course." He replied as he sat back down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning he woke up with her still wrapped in his arms. Her words still in his head "_I was suddenly taken back to a better time where we were happy; there was no proposal, no pregnancy, no miscarriage. Just you and me." _He wanted to give that to her, the happy times. Just the two of them. He was startled out of his thoughts by his phone ringing. He slid out from under her and answered the phone quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She is woken up by his phone ringing and the sudden emptiness of no longer being in his arms.

"I just got back; I haven't even unpacked my suitcase. Yeah, I know what I said. It is just really shitty timing. Ok. I will see you tonight then." He said as he hung up the phone.

"Leaving again?" She asked as he was putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Yes and unfortunately..." He replied look at his watch "I need to head back to Hartford now."

"Oh." Rory said as she got up. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, just business." He replied as they walked to the door.

"Thank you for staying with me last night; I know it wasn't what you had planned." She said as she stood by the door.

"No problem." He replied.

"Well, have a safe trip."

"Thank you." He said as he stood at the door looking into her eyes. He reached over; pushing a piece of hair out of her face sliding his hand slowly down her cheek, his hand cupping her cheek tilting her chin up slightly. Without thinking he leaned in and kissed her. "I'll call you."

Before she knew what was happening, he was walking toward his car. As she watched him, she couldn't help but hear her mother's words on repeat in her head _"You two have never been just friends and I don't think you ever will be."_


End file.
